1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to label holders for use with merchandise display shelves having a flat front face that is used in retail outlets such as department stores, supermarkets, drug stores, or the like, to receive labels providing information relating to merchandise being displayed on the shelves. More specifically, this invention is directed to a label holder with a transparent window or cover member hingedly and resiliently secured to a back or main body panel to form a pocket therebetween for reception of a paper label or the like. The label holder is intended for tape-free attachment to a shelf having a horizontally oriented merchandise support surface, a downwardly disposed flat face (i.e., without C-channel, for example) and an inwardly oriented lip parallel to the merchandise support surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumer-oriented product information labels are commonly found in supermarkets, drug stores, and the like, and provide purchasers with the unit price, promotional and nutritional information, and the like and, also, commonly include bar codes or other inventory control information for the use of the store personnel. Such information may be carried on paper or plastic labels secured directly to the front edge of a merchandise shelf, but the use of adhesively-backed labels has obvious disadvantages in the constantly changing commercial environment found in today's marketplace. More often, plastic label holders are provided which are adapted to removably receive and display the labels in a well-known manner.
Such label holders are generally provided in elongated sections, perhaps four feet in length and may be secured by double-sided adhesive tape or the like to flat-faced supporting surfaces, such as the front edge of a merchandise shelf. This method of attaching is well known for merchandise shelves that do not have particular channels, such as C-channels, the latter of which are intended to receive the labels or plastic label holders as are known in the art.
Various label holders, as well as combined label and sign holders, are known in the art for connection with a wide variety of shelf configurations. A common label holder is one that includes a transparent window or cover member that is hingedly and resiliently secured to the lower edge of a back or main body panel to form a pocket therebetween for reception of a paper label or the like. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,394,632, 5,515,632 and 5,899,011, each of which disclose various label holders, including label holders where the cover member is locked to the back or main body panel. Combined label and sign holders are also well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,112. Typically, the cover member of the label holder will include means for retaining a sign on the front face of the cover member, thus enabling the combined label and sign holder configuration.
As mentioned above, when the shelving to which a label holder is to be applied includes no front face gripping or attachment elements, such as a C-channel, to receive labels or label holders, the attachment of the label holder to the front face is typically by two-sided tape which has the disadvantages discussed above. Thus, a need has arisen for a label holder for tape-free connection with a flat face shelf arrangement. See, for example, U.S. Design Patent No. D480,434 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,201.